A typical vehicle such as a car includes a bonnet panel forming a canopy covering the engine and other related components. The bonnet panel is coupled to a body structure of the car by means of a bonnet displacement mechanism, such as a hinge. In normal use the bonnet panel is in a normal position forming a canopy over the engine and other components during normal driving. If access to the component is required, a front edge of the bonnet panel can be elevated to incline the bonnet panel about the bonnet displacement mechanism.
Some vehicles may be fitted with a bonnet displacement mechanism which also allows a rear edge of the bonnet panel to be raised from the normal position to an elevated position. In this case, the bonnet panel is inclined in the reverse to the scenario described above. Raising the rear edge of the bonnet panel is desirable for situations such as an impact with a pedestrian. In this scenario, raising the rear edge of the bonnet panel so as to incline the bonnet panel in the reverse sense may be desirable to reduce the head impact experienced by the pedestrian.
Such a displacement mechanism is described in US 2007187993 A1.
It is an object of the present invention to further improve on the prior art.